René Jacobs celebrates his 70th birthday – Bach for the demanding

Abstract

The distinguished singer and conductor – René Jacobs – celebrates this year his 70^th birthday. He has pursued a spectacular artistic career for over fifty years. Mr Jacobs’ concert activity has inexorably been linked with his phonographic accomplishments. The artist has recorded hundreds of masterpieces, works representing various music forms and styles. A vital and broad sphere of his artistic quest is the vocal and instrumental music of Johann Sebastian Bach. To date, as a conductor, René Jacobs has recorded many Cantatas, both Passions, Christmas Oratorio,  Mass in B-minor and the collection of Motets composed by the Leipzig Cantor. The listeners have particularly been captivated by the recently performed Passions of St. Matthew and St. John. The recording of St. Matthew Passion by Bach, presented here, is one of the most unique ones that have been released in the last few years. The interpretation, vastly imbued with dramatic narrations and contrasts, enraptures us with superb vocal cast, original approach to agogic stratum and with opulent instrumental cast in basso continuo. Whilst comparing the recording of René Jacobs with the others available on the music market, the conception rendered by the Belgian conductor commands a great respect and admiration for its originality, if not for inventiveness. This recording is somehow a summary of the lifetime searches of the artist, rightly regarded by many critics and music lovers as a true visionary of music.